When it comes to investing in Bangladesh, foreign companies have to be harassed step by step to get services like gas, electricity, water. Domestic companies are not excluded. For this, four or five complaints are being lodged daily in the bidder 'after care' or investment-post-service branch by local and foreign companies. The bureaucratic complexity and procrastination in providing services is worrying investors. Investors' costs are rising due to delays in getting services.
Speaking to bidder officials, it is learned that investors have complained of not getting the license at the right time. They say the concerned government officials and employees are delaying in issuing licenses. Then you have to deal with money transactions. Getting gas-electricity and water connection also has to be harassing. Many investors also complain that the corporate tax rate is high in this country. In addition to delays in getting land registration and bank loans, many complaints were also received about the complexities of customs duties at the port. Again new investors complain, they have to fall into unequal competition. However, a common complaint of all investors is that they have to face 'local dirty politics' in the project area.
Vivo Mobile Phone, a Chinese multinational company, has complained that it has filed a lawsuit against a local man for canceling his dealership in compliance with the rules. At the same time, he is constantly threatening different people. Bida has advised Vivo to file a GD in this regard.
A software company called Well Dave has complained that they are being harassed at the port for importing raw materials from abroad. They have asked the bidder to resolve the issue. Several foreign companies, including Edison Marson and Lafarge Holcim, have filed complaints against Bida. They complained that their business was being disrupted due to local politics.
According to the rules, if any local or foreign entrepreneur wants to invest, he has to go to the bid and register the company first. The company used to fulfill its responsibility by registering earlier. In 2020, Bida launched a branch called Investment-Posting Services. The branch is started to know what kind of problems the companies face after investing, so that the problems can be solved. Bidder officials said several issues have already been resolved. Many problems are on the way to be solved. However, many traders are not yet aware of this branch. Due to the Corona epidemic, there was not much publicity about the branch. If the situation becomes more normal, the company will launch a bid to open a new branch and provide solutions, officials said.
They have more problems when it comes to getting services from government departments. We are trying to solve those problems. If there was sincerity of government departments, these problems would not exist.Sirajul Islam, Executive Chairman, Bida
When asked, Bidar Executive Chairman Sirajul Islam said, “Entrepreneurs have to face various challenges after getting registration from us. Especially when it comes to getting the services of government departments, they have more problems. We are trying to solve those problems. If there was sincerity of government departments, these problems would not exist. He further said, “Our promotion of post-investment services has been less. A campaign will be launched soon to inform everyone about this.
According to a recent survey by the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a non-governmental research organization, businessmen see corruption as a major barrier to doing business in the country. They put corruption at number one among 17 problems in business. According to them, the third problem is administrative inefficiency and limited access to finance. Earlier, CPD had conducted a survey on business environment in 2020 as well. The same problem still arose.
Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills (BSRM) has filed a bid. According to them, even though they applied for permission to use the land of two government departments to bring water from Feni river to the pipeline, they could not get it. That is why they have to use ground water. Therefore, BSRM applied to Bida to make arrangements for the use of land of two government departments. Eventually, the company got permission to use the land of those two government departments to bring water from Feni river to the pipeline through bidder intervention.
BSRM Group Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Tapan Sengupta told Prothom Alo, “Bida has assisted us in fetching water from the Feni river. We have received permission from two government departments to lay a pipeline to fetch water from Feni river. I have also got land lease for setting up a pump house. We will start work soon. '
Bida heard complaints from 36 companies
Meanwhile, 36 local and foreign companies have been called separately from the Bidder Investment-Post Services Branch and their problems have also been heard. At the meeting, Bida also wanted to know why these companies did not do the amount of investment they had promised. There, too, these companies have spoken of similar problems. Some of the notable companies are Bright and Eco Limited, General Eco Tech Limited, Vargo Gas Limited, LPM Limited, Singer Bangladesh etc.
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